Tips on house plant care this Christmas

John Shannon

There are lots of house plants which can be given as a gift at this festive time of year.

We have a wide range to suit everyone’s taste and pocket.

Always ask for advice on how to look after your house plant. For a cooler room choose from cyclamen, hyacinths, jasmine, bonsai trees, begonia, azaleas and kalanchoe.

For a warm room choose the very popular poinsettia or orchids, peace lily, anthirrum or calathea.

Watering is very important. Most house plants suffer because of over or under watering. It is important with all house plants to never allow themto dry out. Water when the compost is dry on top to the touch. This may mean watering every day or just once a week.

Set the house plant in a pot or a saucer below and place some small stones; keeping the stones wet will help with watering and the water will evaporate to create a moist atmosphere.

When watering, try to use tepid rain water. Always keep indoor plants away from draughts, position at a well-lit window out of direct sunlight, never trap plants behind curtains at night, and do not place house plants on or near a radiator.

The most popular house plant at Christmas is the poinsettia, with its beautiful red leaves. This plant is particularly sensitive to draughts, so avoid buying a poinsettia from shops which are placed near an open door as within a few days it will start to drop its leaves.

At the garden centre we purchase poinsettias locally and they are transported to the centre in a warm vehicle.